Of all the uncertainties in the world today, climate change undoubtably represents the most daunting threat to not only peace and prosperity, but to our very existence on this planet. There are many causes of global warming – the burning of fossil fuels from industry, power plants, and cars; agricultural waste; and deforestation.
It’s the latter that often gets overlooked as a major contributor to climate change. Currently, deforestation represents 20% of total greenhouse gas emissions per year. This occurs because normally trees act like filters, sucking up carbon dioxide and spitting out oxygen (photosynthesis). The average tree inhales 12 kilograms of carbon dioxide and exhales enough oxygen for a family of four for a year.* The result is a cleansing of the air. The more trees that are cut down, the less filters we have to keep the air clean. But to make matters worse – when those trees are cut down, not only do we have less trees to clean the air, but each cut down tree releases all the carbon it ever inhaled, pushing all that contained pollution back into the air, so the negative effects are double.
When you think of the worst polluters in the world, you usually think of the top two: 1) China, 2) USA. But, who comes in at number 3? You would probably think of a big industrialized country, maybe in Western Europe somewhere. But no, the third largest source of greenhouse gases comes from Indonesia, because of the rapid deforestation occurring there. Indonesia has some of the richest tropical forests in the world, and they are being demolished, year after year, releasing massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Brazil is the fourth largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, also mostly because of the large scale deforestation. Each year, rainforests about the size of Greece are chopped down.**
People often talk about the devastating environmental effects of emissions from automobiles, and justifiably so. But, conservation of the world’s plant and marine life are as important, if not more important. To some, protecting tropical rainforests often conjures up images of hippies chaining themselves to trees to stop big logging companies from hacking down large forests. It might seem like an uphill battle and while admirable, that might not be the long term solution to preventing large swathes of forest from permanently disappearing. What we need is government action, and preferrably international regulations on deforestation. But, that’s always put off ’til next year, if at all. So in the absence of government action, what do we get? Quite a innovative idea to conservation – private ownership.
Douglas Tompkins has a mixed track record in Chile and Argentina. He originally was the founder of North Face, the outdoor clothing company, and the ESPIRIT clothing company with his wife Susie. He sold his c0ntrol of ESPIRIT and began focusing on conservation. He began buying up large territories of natural forests to protect them from development. He bought forests in Chile and Argentina, mostly in the Patagonia region of southern Chile. With his foundation, The Conservation Land Trust, he buys forest and then returns the land to the state of Chile, ensuring they are irreversably preserved as national parks. He works with his current wife (former CEO of Patagonia Company) and her foundation, Conservacion Patagonica. They are responsible for the preservation of over 2,000,000 acres of forest. He has been met with both praise and opposition. Some Chilean nationalists fear a foreigner owning such large amounts of land; some developers wish to acquire the land for economic gain. But Tompkins has slowly gained the trust of many people.
Chile has very rich forests and much of it is untouched. However, much of it is also unprotected. Through private ownership, Tompkins has prevented the invasion into such pristine forests, and uniquely turned over ownership to the government of Chile with the condition that they are preserved as national parks.
Deforestation remains one of the major causes of climate change. But when government fails to act, or is unwilling to do so, the future of such forests may rest with the boldness of people like Tompkins.
Picture from Executive Style
*Fact from ESA (European Space Agency)
**Fact from ESA (European Space Agency)
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